Today

Here is the Steampunk piece so far: CLICK

It's going slowly but I'm really happy with how it's looking. Really happy so far!

Today - I am doing some more stuff with Mad Science in a couple of hours. A new school so that should be interesting!

Then later, I'm DJing some rock, metal, punk and alternative at Velvet Nightclub in Worcester for the 2nd time.
Looking forward to that too!

Today, I am liking the artwork of Nam Sang Heun

And I have finally listened to Matchbox Twenty. I like them. Make me think a little of The Black Crowes.

Steampunk Drawing Update

Here's how it's looking so far!

CLICK!

Quite happy with how it's looking at the mo. Haven't been able to do much more on it but this is what I have so far!



Edit:
And now, I have a little bit more done on it.

CLICK AGAIN!

I'm trying something a little different with this. After laying down just a base colour for each person/thing in the picture, I'll then paint on a single layer that it ON TOP of the sketch layer.
I'm hoping this will:
a) Give it a more painterly style and
b) force me to make tougher decisions and tighten up my thinking while freeing up my style a little.

Also, I have mainly been listening to The Human Abstract (along with The Architects, Cancer Bats, and Abandon All Ships - yes - I'm in that sorta mood!).
The Human Abstract - Fusing metal with classical music in a novel way.

See here: Human Abstract – Antebellum

Productive?

Entered a competition to design a cute monster for a t-shirt on DeviantArt today.
If you're a member, check it out and if you like it vote by clicking "I'd Wear This" here - http://capndred.deviantart.com/#/d4r361s

Also joined a couple more networking sites but haven't really sorted out the profiles for them yet. Later.

Watched more 24. Two more episodes left!

Listened to some Gonjasufi, some Grandaddy, and some Handsome Boy Modelling School.

Ones I've had on repeat:

Gonjasufi: Sheep, and Dobermins
Grandaddy: He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot
Handsome Boy Modelling School: The Truth, and A Day In The Life - featuring RZA, The Mars Volta & AG + Good Hygiene featuring Tim Meadows

Choonz!!!

Old!

Wow!
Just been flicking through my old LiveJournal Entries.
Very interesting for me. Not so sure about anyone else.

Rather than port them all over here, I'm just gonna link to that old journal here.

http://capndred.livejournal.com/

Networking

So I need to make another push at this.

I'm signing up to creative and professional networking sites. Free ones at first and we'll see how they go, and then maybe I'll think about paying for some and seeing if results are worthwhile.

I'm not sure how to use these websites properly yet but now I am on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/curtis-allen/48/9b2/3b5

And Behance - http://www.behance.net/curtisallen

And I've been on PeoplePerHour for a few months now - http://www.peopleperhour.com/freelancers/curtis_allen/portfolio/freelance_illustrator_and_artist/239446

I hope to figure out how to use these to their full potential soon.

I'm also looking into getting flyers and business cards printed up and then repeating all of this for DJing too.

Busy times!

Steampunk and Space

For ages I've been wanting to draw some proper, honest-to-goodness steampunk characters, but haven't gotten around to it. I think maybe because I'm worried I won't be able to, but I adore steampunk and it will really upset me if I'm not good at drawing it.

But, what with the upcoming Steampunk Ball I'm off to this weekend, spending a fair amount of time explaining steampunk to people, flicking through my 1,000 Steampunk Creations book (thanks Izzy!) I've felt compelled to.
Also, having my head abuzz with ideas for what to do with the cariacature lockets I've just started offering for sale, and the fact that being in the new house has made me feel more inclined to creativity, I've started a new Steampunk themed piece.
It's quite narrative - there's a clear event being depicted in it, which I've realised I rarely do - the exception being my "I Thought I Already Killed You" piece, and to a lesser degree, my "Not While I Still Draw Breath" piece.

For the new piece, I've picked a slightly awkward angle (for me at least - I rarely draw people from this angle) and a lot of the finer details I don't have clear in my head - but I've got colours and emotions, and overall mood I want to convey in my head so I'm hoping the details materialise from these.

Tonight I have pencilled in the main figures, sorted out the larger aspects of composition, and left it at that.
I will be updating my prgress here.

Click HERE to see how it looks currently.

The good thing about having a near enough dedicated drawing space is that I don't feel such a need to get as much done in one session as I can now leave, knowing that when I come back, I don't have to go through the rigmarole of clearing a space and setting up again. I think this is going to aid my productivity no end. Rather than feeling I've got to have a clear few hours to make it worth drawing, I can do just a little in an idle half hour.

Bliss!

Curt -xXx-

My last dream last night (of about 3)

How about this for a dream? We had to put on a Christmas play/pageant in the foyer of a hotel, even though it was the height of summer. So we set about doing this, all bedecked in Christmas gear. I was one of the Santa Clauses. A couple of hobbits were Christmas elves downstairs, sifting through the naughty and nice lists. I went out front and drummed up interest with one of the other guys.However, it was all a front for a meeting of us super-criminals called by The Joker. As children gathered downstairs for the surprising Christmas celebrations, we criminals gathered upstairs of the skyscraper around a table in an executive boardroom (still all in Christmas garb) and waited for The Joker to show up, but in the meantime, several of the others argued and  one by one killed each other in violent ways. From about 12 of us, there were now 4. When I nervously rang the Joker, it turned out he was in a cafe across town waiting for us. He'd changed the meeting plans but not told us.I wonder if he knew this would happen, and was whittling us down?